Freshman Sha Brooks' 16 points led five Gators in double-figure scoring, helping the University of Florida women's basketball team defeat Auburn, 72-61, in the O'Connell Center Thursday evening.
The Gators improved to 16-5 overall and evened their Southeastern Conference record at 4-4 en route to snapping a two-game slide, while the Tigers (12-9, 3-5 SEC) had their three-game winning streak halted.
Brooks broke out of a mini scoring slump, reaching double-figures for the first time in six games. She scored 15 of her 16 points from behind the three-point arc, while tying UF's freshman record with five treys in a game, hitting 5-of-12 from long range.
Florida's four other double-figure scorers all were seniors. Brittany Davis (Gainesville, Fla.) added 13 points and six rebounds, while Sarah Lowe (Wynnewood, Pa.) posted 11 points for the Gators, dished six assists and had a game-high five steals. Dalila Eshe (Tallahassee, Fla.) chipped in 10 points, all of which came on perfect shooting from the charity stripe, as she extended her free throws made streak to 25. Danielle Santos (Marietta, Ga.) scored in double figures for the sixth-straight time, recording 10 points, as well as three rebounds and two steals.
“I think our veteran players did a great job for us tonight,” UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. “Dalila was solid inside and did a good job of posting up. There was a huge size difference inside and they had the obvious advantage. But we did a good job of attacking the basket and keeping the ball in our possession when we had it.”
Florida jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead to start the game and made it rain threes, scoring 24 of its 35 first half points from behind the arc, hitting 8-of-18.
The two teams traded shots throughout the first half, as Auburn took its first lead of the game at the 8:21 mark after a couple free throws by KeKe Carrier. A 10-0 run by the Tigers put Auburn up 27-20 with 7:05 remaining, but the Orange and Blue battled back scoring 11 unanswered points of its own to take a 40-35 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Gators maintained their lead throughout the second half and slowly shut the door on Auburn with scoring runs of 7-0 and 7-2. Peck lauded the team as a whole for its offensive attack on the court, Lowe in particular.
“One of the things we really focus on is building our offense and trying to erase the turnovers,” Peck said. “Our players were confident when they were shooting and Sarah Lowe did a great job of pushing the ball in transition. We tweaked our offense a little for this game and did a better job of passing and sharing and moving the basketball.”
The Gators took advantage of 22 Tiger turnovers to convert 26 points from the giveaways. Conversely, UF kept the turnover column to a season low of seven, after coming off their 25 turnover performance against Georgia on Sunday. Florida shot 34.6 percent from three-point range (9-26), compared to 25 percent (3-12) by Auburn and sank 21-of-27 free throws, while the Tigers finished 10-for-15 from the charity stripe.
Auburn was led by Carrier, who scored a game-high 24 points, while Marita Payne added 10 points, seven rebounds and six blocks.
The Gators return to action on Sunday, February 5, when Florida travels to Lexington to play 21st-ranked Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 SEC) in a sold-out Memorial Coliseum. The game tips-off at noon and was elevated to be televised live nationally on the FSN Net Base. It can be seen in Gainesville on FSN South and Sun Sports.
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